Charbonnel

Haha, I totally agree, Lin Pei Yu has shown to be better than that with her writing, that’s why I’m here in the first place. I have confidence in her so I’m also excited. :)

Ahh, okay, thanks :)

A lovely first article! An entertaining and interesting read.

I’m somewhere in between NDD and the Drop Cult - I often get irritated or bored by a drama and end up sentencing it to the “on-hold” list, which leads to two possible fates - I rewatch some time later and appreciate it, or I drop it. Essentially I put dramas that are off putting in purgatory while I cleanse my palate and give them some time to sit.

I used to think that putting a drama on hold or dropping it was a failure on me as a viewer, but as time goes on I’m gradually accepting the need to (at the very least) put things that aren’t doing anything for me on hold, to eventually get a drop or rewatch outcome.

Other times, I struggle because when a drama is spectacular up until a train wreck last couple of episodes, I absolutely cannot leave just the last 2-3 episodes of a show, unless I realise that it’s going downhill and/or it got cancelled and won’t ever be complete anyway.

Also, a surprising number of dramas I’ll start, watch 1-3 episodes and just not add to my list because I already decide not to continue. This mainly happens with very cliché romance or rom-com dramas that just don’t offer that *interesting/entertaining* experience.

I was about to say it’s free on WeTV, I watched up to the airing of episode 10 there without VIP, the VIP lock for episodes 3-11 is new, because I definitely recall watching episode 9 there and I’m not VIP.

I wonder why they changed it, it wasn’t like this a week ago I’m pretty sure they must have switched it recently. I wouldn’t call it a lie that it’s free, it certainly WAS last time I checked...

It isn’t new about VIP locking shows though, WeTV has several shows like that already I’d imagine and you’ll come across the same thing on Viki - where some shows are VIP only, or some are free until episode 5 and then VIP.

Same! Shu Yi was fiery to begin with, so anything could have happened in the five years and we still couldn’t be sure until it airs! I’m excited nonetheless though. :)

I loved it! Initially my feelings were mixed about the last few seconds of preview, but thinking in to it more, it seems like a nice setup for a more angsty and fiery second part.

This show was lovely from a writing and acting standpoint, with all cast members suiting their parts and pulling their own weight. I liked everything about it. Although the angst shown in the preview irked me at first because it would have been nice to reach a happy point and leave it there, but it is also different to the usual case because there is a second part coming in a month, so I can accept it.

It also makes sense with a time skip, in some ways it is like two completely different shows, focusing on people in different places in life, so I can appreciate what Lin Pei Yu is doing here. The first part has been an endearing and human portrayal of the cast in university, and the second part looks as though it will be focused on a more cutting adult world - and I think this partially because of them speaking in previews about the intensity of the second season, and it’s also nice as a setup, as they fell for each other in university and we got to know their characters here. Now we can look forward to seeing how they grow to be as adults in the working world, while understanding what motivations and challenges they have faced.

Either way, I loved this in its entirety, pacing, acting, writing, music was also done well. Although this (as others have mentioned) isn’t the most original setup, it does (cleverly) set up a second season that almost certainly will feature a more original setup with the added emotional attachment between the audience and the characters having seen them before, rather than awkwardly tossing people in to that dynamic and seeing all the history through flashbacks. Looking forward to season 2!

Also looking forward to seeing the entirety of season 2, and understanding this show as a whole, seeing growth and change. Here’s to hoping Lin Pei Yu does more like this!

Siri’s got nothing either, so I’m reckoning it’s an OST or hasn’t come out yet. Sounds like a good song though! Can’t wait to hear the whole thing..! ^^

Ack! Are the cast listed under the wrong characters for the stepbrothers? In the trailer the text paired with them is the other way around to how it’s listed here..?

Teaser looked interesting. I’m praying for the writing (writer still unannounced...), but excited because the teaser was good and it’s another HIStory show! I’m curious to see how the stepbrothers’ side of the story is done from the synopsis and teaser. Also, it’s getting 20 episodes, so probably the same length as last season, which I’m looking forward to because it should feel like the right length, not like a mini-series, but not too dragged out either.

Also liked all the snippets of music they had in the teaser, as well as more showing the vibe of each character (maybe?) - rather than using scenes from the show.

Here’s the link to the best translation I’ve found. Volume 1 is the first film, volume 2 is the second, and the third covers afterwards - I’d recommend starting from 1, because there’s a lot of differences in the novels when compared to the films.

https://megajivetranslations.wordpress.com/volume-one/

Pretty sure it’s on YouTube...

If you mean the one that Ji Chung Shin references, saying “See you around” - at the point at which he said that there may well have been an evil spirit, and Hyeoku was often violent, often wanting to kill at that point, so it made sense. The evil spirit also giggles, saying “he’s one of us”, so there’s little doubt about it at that point.

However, at some point after being on the receiving end of violence and So Moon helping him, it seems that his will to be violent largely subsides and he genuinely wants help. Then, Chung Shin’s evil spirit switches to Hyeoku and after it leaves, there is clearly no evil spirit worth speaking of anymore because he repents, apologises, and goes off to start life afresh with good intentions.

It is a bit of a loose end in a way I guess, as there was definitely reference to Hyeoku being the host of an evil spirit, and then it becomes unclear as to what happens to it - but it’s possible that when Chung Shin’s evil spirit takes over that the evil spirit he had went with it.

You definitely aren’t remembering the story wrong though, it’s just that it never got explained. Also, this could relate to the awkward affair of the writer changing from episode 13 - so it is likely to be a detail that got missed when rewriting episodes 13-16.

I heard about a new MDL algorithm, maybe it’s a hiccup, but hey, I’d definitely rate this show a solid 67.1/10..!
Maybe MDL had deemed this the all time superior drama?

Really excited for today’s episode! :)

Interesting topic and well researched. Coincidentally I went to high school in the castle (and grounds) that Cathrine of Aragon lived the rest of her days in after she fell from Henry VII’s favour.

Both of these cases share similarity with one major exception, the Korean King had concubines; whereas Catholicism in the west meant that up until Henry VII, divorce did not exist - and (as far as I know) concubines have never existed in England.
It does sound to me as though In Hyeon had more opportunity and initiative than Catherine, although this could relate to the fact that concubines had official position in Korea at the time, whereas Catherine was dealing with a situation in which at societal expectation, the monarch should have only one partner - yet Henry abandoned her - had the position of concubine existed in Western Europe at the time, it would be interesting to see if that had panned out less tragically for not just Catherine, but the other wives of Henry VII.

Thanks for your reply!

Ahh, okay, I get where you’re coming from - and it’s true the story from Trapped had messy moments. I wasn’t keen on Jake Hsu initially, but then by the time I was rewatching I really appreciated his acting, I think that his character was a bit jarring first time around but grew to like him anyway. Also MODC was a different writer who co-wrote Bromance with Lin Pei Yu, and I wasn’t as much of a fan of that one personally.

It’s also lovely to hear another fan of Lin Pei Yu’s writing is here! Lin Pei Yu being the writer is what drew me to this because of watching her writing grow from Bromance through HIStory, and by the looks of things this is her own series and doesn’t seem to have any interference on her writing. I do agree this isn’t that original, but if it’s a starting point for Lin Pei Yu having a renewable anthology/series at WeTV, I’m all for it!

Just wanted to say thank you for the link to that video, gives me more of an idea about what there is to look forward to..! I’m now even more excited for both the rest of this and season 2, really enjoying everything about it so far. Also interesting discussion about behind the scenes stuff with a bit of the actors’ perspective :)

Although I’d put out there that Trapped (if you liked it(?)) was solid for actors, story, characters, chemistry, kisses. Also written by the same writer - although if you think this’ll end up better, I’d say if the fact it’s short doesn’t bother you than I might agree. The main penalty for this show (for me) is that it’ll be quite short even with both seasons, however if they’re planning to become like HIStory (format wise), then they’re off to a great start.

I absolutely cackled at their new uniform, although personally I also prefer the red tracksuit.. XD

I think I prefer this one at 16 eps rather than 12 personally, but just my opinion - each to their own on pacing I guess? I only found episode 10 to be slow relative to the rest, but equally think it was still important in its own way.

Absolutely loved it! I’m excited for season 2, plus with their job being what it is, this is easily a show that can have more seasons. I was also happy to see their photos with their stunt doubles, as I had thought those stunt doubles deserved the credit.

Also, big props to the writers for bringing a lot more humanity to some of the characters than expected, and the cast all did spectacular, main cast and supporting (and guest). The tone was also consistent throughout the show, with the right balance of all the key aspects - they also got the comedy balance just right for me.

I enjoyed the show in its entirety, although would say that it’s worth watching without skipping if you have the patience, as I watched episodes 10 and 11 with too much skipping, so went back and rewatched them and it was well worthwhile, the only “draggy” episode for me was 10, but after a rewatch it was still well done and enjoyable.

As for the ‘maybe romance (if you get what I mean?)’ that popped up later on in the series - I hope that it doesn’t become a major focus for season 2. It was kind of cute/funny in the first instance if it felt a bit crowbarred in, and I kind of hope for more of a strong friendship angle rather than suddenly getting full on romance - that’s the only thing I’m wary of for season 2, other than that I’m really excited for it! (*This is not about Ms Chu and Jang Mool - I loved their moments, very entertaining)

I agree, often the twists I appreciate are of dramas fully prerecorded where some serious thought went in to it.

When it comes to nonsensical twists, I’d say I can accept it if the show has aspects of satire/parody style comedy - for example, I could have still enjoyed Strong Woman Do Bong Soon pretty much regardless of what twists that wanted to throw at me, because it’s one of those dramas where it feels like everything goes, and more crazy = more fun.

An interesting article, as far as good goes, I’m tempted to say Flower of Evil, as there’s more than one really well done twist and at no point did it feel jarring - if anything, at least one of the twists pulled me in more. I also enjoyed the very twisty Strangers from Hell, which delivered unexpected twists through manipulation of sanity and perspective.

I have to say I haven’t seen any of the dramas you mentioned, so I can’t really comment there, although a very interesting topic for an article.